A Curious Consequence
Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or its fantastic characters. This is only done for fun and the only profit earned is reviews.
Note: So I decided to expand this one-shot a bit because I got some new ideas of where to take it. It stood on its own quite well but there was still room to add some interesting bits. This won't be a long story though. I've planned to add only two more chapters to keep this a neat little trilogy. It took me a while to get this written but I'm hoping to get the next (final) chapter up soon-ish.
Small point of information: Folken is alive in this story. I will spare you the details.
I also decided to post this today as a mini-tribute to Merle. I've usually only done this for Dilandau, Folken, and Eries but Merle's been growing on me the past year or so. And she needs more love.
Happy Birthday, Merle!
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"How do we know each other exactly?"
A straightforward enough question but one Merle found impossible to answer at that moment. She was still thrown by Dilandau's having regained consciousness and his seemingly earnest plea for her to stay with him.
The invalid had tried to get out of bed but had gotten dizzy at every attempt. Eventually he realized that he only had enough energy to sit up on the bed. But he was determined not to be left alone so Merle pulled up a chair and sat beside him. He was agitated but not violent and seemed to have no memory of his past. He remembered his name but nothing else and so it was a comfort to have someone who seemed to be acquainted with him around to fill in the gaps. Though he had yet to understand the nature of their acquaintance. Merle had certainly not been forthcoming with details.
"Well," she began hesitantly, struggling to find the appropriate words, but feeling pressured the intensely expectant way he was looking at her, "I….I…I am not your enemy."
That seemed truthful enough. It would have been absurd to call herself his friend.
He raised an eyebrow at this. "And why should you be? Is there a war or something?"
"You really don't remember?" Merle asked uncertainly.
Dilandau rolled his eyes. "Would I be asking if I did?"
His memories may have not returned but he retained some of his personality, Merle noted. He was in relatively good spirits, at least. She found this strangely comforting. It was too confusing having to deal with him in such a state. Not that she had been prepared to deal with him at all.
He pressed her for more details and she went so far as describing what countries they were from and the general sequence of events. She was careful not to reveal too much. And she decided not to mention, for the time being, that he was currently under lock and key and that people of higher authority had not yet decided his fate. He would find out soon enough and she did not want to be the one to break the news to him.
"So why did you come to see me?" Dilandau asked, genuinely curious. "Did you know I would wake up today? Did you wake me up?"
Merle simply shook her head. "I had no idea you'd wake up today," she said honestly.
"So why were you here? What were you planning to do? Stare at a sleeping person for hours?" Dilandau asked, in a tone of mild amusement.
Merle blushed at this. "It's complicated, you see."
"You're not exactly making it easier to understand."
"Maybe I don't fully understand this myself," she admitted, "this situation, I mean." Or how I got myself into it, she added to herself.
"You and me both," Dilandau remarked with a sigh, leaning back into the headboard and staring at the ceiling. He still felt slightly disoriented but it was easier having someone around even if she wasn't explaining things properly. He was sure she was withholding a lot of information from him but what she had said so far seemed genuine enough. He would content himself with that for the time being as he still felt too tired to argue or quarrel.
Merle watched him carefully. She knew that she should have alerted the guard on duty to this development or somehow summoned Allen or Folken. They would have been better equipped to handle this situation.
"I'm not even supposed to be here," she thought but she felt less regret than she expected.
But then again, she felt a peculiar pleasure at having been "first at the scene", as it were. And though it was a slightly awkward predicament, for some inexplicable reason, she wanted to keep Dilandau to herself for the moment. When the others knew that he was awake, she would certainly not have such an opportunity. And she would also be in the unenviable position of explaining why she was there in the first place, her own reasons remaining a mystery even to herself.
Merle's train of thought was interrupted when Dilandau suddenly leaned forward, clutching at his head tightly.
"What's wrong?" she asked in concern, moving closer to him instinctively.
"My head," he said through gritted teeth, "it hurts, it hurts…so much."
Merle's eyes widened in alarm. "I'll go get help," she suggested but as she stood to leave, he called out to her.
"Stay, please," he said, and how could she refuse?
She watched helplessly as he held his hands to the sides of his head, trying to steady himself. She murmured words of comfort though she wasn't sure if he heard any of them as he stared straight ahead of him and began to tremble slightly. Putting all complications aside, Merle reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't pull away.
After a few agonizing minutes, the attack seemed to have passed and Dilandau took a long, deep breath and seemed to have regained some composure. Merle sighed with relief and waited for him to get his bearings.
When he finally turned to face her, there was a light of recognition in his eyes.
"I know you."